Give the Tree Life (As Well as my Heart)
by DarkAngelOfSorrowReturns
Summary: Lavender wants to liven up the tree in the girls' dormitory, but she has a reason for doing so.


**A/N: Written for HSWW (Challenges and Assignments)**

 **Assignment #10 Muggle Studies -** Task 2: write about someone celebrating a Christmas tradition

 **Count Your Buttons:** (object) paper clip

 **Christmas Advent Calendar:** Door 9 - (hard) write about disagreeing over decorating the Christmas tree

 **Christmas at the Movies:** The Nightmare Before Christmas - write about someone being excited by something

 **Gobblestone Club: Blue Stone:** (word) provide, (word) gloomy, (pairing) Lavender/Parvati

 **Around the World in Thirty-One Days:** 71\. Guyana - word: glamour

 **Word Count: 1,192**

* * *

Parvati was laying on her stomach on her bed, legs moving back and forth in the air as she zoned out and stared at the dark, blank tree in the girls' dormitory in the Gryffindor Tower.

It appeared right as most of the students left for the winter break. Parvati and her sister didn't have the opportunity to return home due to some familial complications neither wanted to deal with, so the twins were residing in their respected houses.

Parvati knew that it was her fault they were in the predicament in the first place, and she felt guilty. Overall, Parvati didn't have much hope in the holidays being something that she was going to enjoy.

The only good thing that was going to come from her break was going to come from the bubbly blonde that waltz over to Parvati's poster bed with a box in her arms; the only other girl from their year that stayed. She plopped it down, causing 'clinking' noises to come out from the box. Parvati looked at Lavender as she bounced on heels.

"Look what I've got!" Lavender in a sing-song voice. Her curls swishing with her movements.

Parvati blinked, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "A...box?" she said.

Lavender huffed and shook her head. "I mean what's _in_ the box," she replied.

Parvati gave Lavender a skeptical look and sat up. Once she was sitting on her legs, Parvati pulled the box towards her and looked inside; different trinkets, clothing material, and jewelry pieces were piled up inside the box. She glanced up at Lavender with a raised brow. "Now I'm even more confused."

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Lavender exasperated, "they're decorations!"

"Lavender, I don't think that's how that works," Parvati said.

"Of course it is," Lavender argued, "you just aren't seeing it."

"I'm clearly seeing the items from our trunks."

"Did you switch personalities with your sister?"

"Excuse me!"

Parvati narrowed her eyes as she pouted at Lavender. Lavender's face softened with a smile before she kneeled next to Parvati. She caressed the twin's face and looked into her eyes.

"You're still the more adorable one," Lavender said.

Parvati didn't completely let up on her look she was giving Lavender, but she could feel that it softened. "And don't you forget it," she said.

Lavender giggled and leaned forward, causing Parvati to crack a smile and giggle as well. She met Lavender halfway for a short Eskimo kiss before moving away.

"Now," Lavender said as she clapped her hands together, "as I was saying, these are the decorations for the tree. If you think about it, they have more glamour than those gloomy things the school tries to provide."

Parvati tilted her head, listening to Lavender's words. "Hogwarts isn't notable for its fashionable choices."

Lavender snorted. "Exactly. Hogwarts gained a good thing when we arrived, and we're going to prove that by giving this tree some life!"

Thinking of something, Parvati frowned. "Where did the ornaments that should have been on the tree go? I'm positive the House Elves would have had a fit if they weren't able to do anything now that I think about it."

Lavender waved it off. "I asked Professor McGonagall. She said she'd take care of it," she said as she shook her head, "and I was not going to question it."

Parvati shrugged. "Alright then. It's a bit odd is all."

"No, what's odd is Seamus wearing that horrid Christmas sweater to lunch," Lavender remarked as she grabbed some items out of the box.

Parvati followed suit, grabbing a few silk materials that they used for scarves. "That's not odd, that's dreadful," she replied with a giggle. She heard Lavender giggling next to her when she pulled out something that didn't match the other items.

"What's a paperclip doing in here?" Parvati asked, glancing over to Lavender, who was tying two cloth pieces together. Lavender looked over at what Parvati was holding and shrugged.

"I was in a rush."

Parvati shook her head but didn't say anything more. After a moment, the girls continued their work of placing their makeshift ornaments onto the bland tree and filled the silence with gossip about the other inhabitants of Hogwarts over Winter Break.

/

Parvati laid on her side on top of her bed, looking at the lit tree. She smiled to herself, feeling proud at the work she and Lavender did.

The Christmas tree was dressed in various colors of cloth material that were tied to resemble ribbons. Necklaces and bracelets were hanging off the ends of the branches, lit up with magic. Miniature dolls and shrunken pictures were placed in the other spaces to complete the look.

Lavender stood next to the tree with her wand. She tapped her chin with her wand before she quickly flicked her wrist. "To finish it off…" Lavender trailed off as a large picture of her and Parvati sat at the top of the tree was hit with a jet of light, and it began to glow. "And we're finished here!"

"Shouldn't there be an actual star on top of the tree?" Parvati pointed out.

"We _are_ stars," Lavender replied.

"Touche," Parvati said with a laugh.

Lavender giggled and moved to sit next to Parvati on her bed. Parvati moved so Lavender could lie her head in Parvati's lap, and when Lavender did, Parvati instinctively began stroking her hair.

"We did such an amazing job, as expected," Parvati said, "but I wasn't expecting us to do it in the first place." She glanced down at the blonde. "Care to share why we did it?"

Lavender's lips parted slightly. "I know you wanted to go home," she said finally, "and I know it's my fault that you didn't." She looked away briefly, "So I figured that if you couldn't celebrate Christmas traditions with your family, then we'd start our own with that tree."

Parvati shook her head. "It is not your fault," she argued, "if they don't want to accept who I care for then they don't deserve to celebrate Christmas with me."

"But–"

"No buts," Parvati said, "I am happy where I am, and I'm happy I had the chance to start this tradition with you."

Lavender smiled and sat up to press her lips under Parvati's jaw. "Should we get some of the other girls to admire our handywork? I bet they'd love to have a sleepover and gossip all night just as much as we would."

Parvati looked away briefly to think on it. As much as she'd love to just take this time with Lavender, Parvati knew that she'd have all break to spend as much time as she wanted with her; and Padma deserved some holiday cheer as she was in the same predicament as Parvati.

"Alright," Parvati said, "let's go to the Great Hall, tell the girls, and meet here with them after dinner."

Lavender brightened and clapped her hands. "Perfect! I have so many plans…"

Parvati listened to every idea Lavender gave, adding her opinion when needed. It was starting to become everything she could have hoped for in the holiday break.


End file.
